


Copper at Seven

by betheflame



Series: Rose Garden [4]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Anniversary, Domestic Fluff, Established Relationship, Fluff, Gift Giving, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-25
Updated: 2020-02-25
Packaged: 2021-02-28 00:49:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,329
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22895170
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/betheflame/pseuds/betheflame
Summary: It's Steve & Tony's 7th wedding anniversary and Tony has no idea what to get for Steve.Set in the "Turns Out, I Have a Rose Garden" Universe
Relationships: Michelle Jones/Peter Parker, Steve Rogers/Tony Stark
Series: Rose Garden [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1479341
Comments: 40
Kudos: 231





	Copper at Seven

**Author's Note:**

> I promised you all a surprise for passing a kudos milestone and it happened! Also, this is more proof I'll probably never be fully done with this world - it's too much fun! 
> 
> Also, quiet shout-out to Mr. Flame - we celebrated seven years this past week and he got me a smol penguin made of wool. Absolute perfection.

“No, that’s not going to, DUM-E, I said… no, I can’t… Jarvis? Can you manage…”

“Sir, you have not completed a sentence in approximately fourteen minutes and while I am certainly versed in your specified dialect, you have yet to allow me to read your mind,” Jarvis replied, with a droll tone that should be impossible for an AI.

And yet.

“I married one of the world’s best gift givers, Jarvis,” Tony exclaimed. “I married a man who observes, who notices, who…”

Tony snapped his fingers.

“Who has a son who can snoop for me!”

If Jarvis could sigh, he would have.

The date of Steve and Tony’s 7th wedding anniversary was rapidly approaching. The pair had started a tradition from year one that they’d follow the ‘traditional’ gifts and put a $250 limit on the gift itself. One year - the cotton year - they agreed on a $10 maximum and the small sheep made of a wine cork and cotton balls that Steve gave Tony had a place of pride on the inventor’s desk.

Year four had been a breeze (fruit/flowers and Tony soldered a metal rose for Steve), five had been trickier but solvable (wood, which was only difficult because Steve banned dick jokes), and the previous year had been the easiest yet. Iron, after all, was one of his specialties.

This year, however, he was faced with wool or copper. Copper, of course, was the obvious choice since he had some lying around and could probably make something and…

But it felt done.

And Steve deserved creativity and freshness and…

Tony sighed as he pulled out his phone to text his stepson.

_WhatsApp: IronDad & Spiderling_

_Tony: Halp._

_Tony: Peter._

_Tony: Peitro._

_Tony: Peter Peter Pumpkin Eater_

_Tony: PEEEEEEEEEETER_

_Peter: FFS, Pops. You’re worse than Angie._

_Peter: Who is four._

_Tony: I don’t know what to get for your dad’s anniversary._

_Peter: This? This is waht I get the attacks for? I’m coming over tomorrow. This couldn’t wait?_

_Tony: Woah. Kid. What’s going on?_

_Peter: sry pops. shitty week_

_Tony: Then yes, this can drop._

_Peter: No, distract me._

_Peter: What’s the theme this year?_

_Tony: Copper_

_Peter: Doable_

_Tony: or wool_

_Peter: like sheep?_

_Peter: Pops do not buy him a sheep_

_Peter: you already googled that didnt’ you_

_Tony: we’re not zoned for it_

_Peter: Sweaters are also made of wool_

_Tony: pedestrian_

_Peter: But Dad *hates* being cold._

_Peter: you have two months_

_Peter: and i know you finished christmas already_

_Peter: hold on, MJ knows people._

Tony nearly smacked himself on the forehead. Why didn’t he go straight to MJ? She’s connected to artisans all over the world and could easily get him something unique enough to be worthy of Steve but simple enough to not make him feel uncomfortable.

They still hadn’t gotten over the Great Surprise Trip to Bora Bora Crisis of 2022.

_WhatsApp: POTUS Support Staff_

_Peter: This year is wool and copper._

_MJ: Oh, easy. I’m in bolivia next week. You want alpaca wool?_

_Peter: See what happens when you ask for help?_

_Tony: you get the sass from your father_

_Peter: oh, no, it was mom. And then Auntie Nat and then Auntie Pep_

_Peter: I was trained well_

_Tony: For the thousandth time, I wish I had known your mom_

_Peter: Pops, I wish that every day._

_MJ: NO SCHMOOP ON MAIN YOU IDIOTS. Pops. Alpaca? I got Irish contacts too - you want sheep?_

_MJ: What are you doing with it?_

_MJ: Please let me make him a terribly tacky poncho. Please._

_Tony: A red cardigan with a zipper._

_Peter: He’s going to kill you._

_Tony: Worth it._

* * *

Six weeks later, it was showtime. They’d gone to dinner at their favorite place in Harlem and then let their driver take the long way home so they could indulge in one of their favorite past times - making out like teenagers in the back of the car.

However, their bodies didn’t quite love it as much as their souls did, so when they arrived back at the house, Tony’s back was a little wrenched and Steve had a bruise from where he’d knocked his head on the window, but all in all a successful night.

Tony had been in bits all day waiting for Steve to open his gift. The literal minute they were back in the house, Tony made a mad dash down to the workshop and grabbed the expertly wrapped box that MJ had presented him with the week before.

“Here,” he shoved the box unceremoniously at Steve, who had settled himself on the couch. “It’s different, you may hate it, but -”

Steve grabbed Tony’s wrist and pulled him down to the couch. “You wanna let me open it before we’re returning it to Kohl’s?”

“Like I’d buy you something on a coupon,” Tony scoffed but saw the glint in Steve’s eye. “You’re being an ass.”

“Happy anniversary, babe,” Steve laughed, but slowly pulled back the paper and opened the box. Inside was a hand-woven zip-up cardigan in deep burgundy. Stitched on the inside, where a tag would normally go, was their anniversary date.

“I thought,” Tony said quietly, “that you could have something soft from me since I normally make you all the metaly stuff and yes, it is a reference to Mr. Rogers’ cardigan, but you look better in richer tones and also MJ couldn’t find bright red in Bolivia because that’s where this is from, Bolivia, from one of the farms you and I support, so it’s like our adopted alpaca wool or something, anyway, Fred Rogers was one of the best men to walk the earth and you are, too, and -”

Tony could taste Steve’s tears as they kissed and surprised himself with tears of his own. _It’s just a sweater, Stark. Get it together._

When they pulled apart, Steve rested his head onto Tony’s forehead. “Mr. Rogers is my hero. I hate it when you tease me because he is actually my hero, not because I don’t want to be compared to him. So if this is saying you really think… Tony… you’re too good to me.”

Tony snorted a gentle laugh. “You absolute idiot. 14 years and you couldn’t have told me? Good to know we’re still shit at communication.”

Steve started laughing. “My turn.”

He extracted himself from Tony’s embrace and padded into the kitchen. When he returned, he was carrying a large box.

“Where did that come from?”

“The pantry you never look in,” Steve replied. Tony rolled his eyes and Steve smirked at him.

Tony slowly lifted the lid off the box to find a sculpture of hands, open as though ready to receive something. He looked slowly at Steve.

“I can’t sculpt your brain,” Steve started, “which is my favorite part of you, but I can do my second favorite and get your brain out of the gutter. But I love your hands. I love how they create, how they soothe me, how they cradle Winnie, how they… I love your hands.”

Tony stared at his husband. “Are you telling me you sculpted this? Seriously?”

Steve nodded and rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. “Been taking classes with a lady over in Roxborough. She let me use her studio if I could get her a selfie with Sam - turns out that he was her favorite.”

Tony cracked up, running his hands over the sculpture as he did. “Wise woman.”

“So I can wrap myself in your love, and you can put mine on your desk,” Steve concluded.

Tony smirked. “You can wrap yourself in my love -”

“Okay, you gross old man. True love time is over, I see.”

Tony leaned in and kissed his husband of seven years and three hours. “It’s never a time, sweetheart. It’s a state of being. And I live in it forever. I love you.”

“I love you,” Steve whispered against Tony’s lips. “Now get upstairs, ordinary citizen.”

“Yes, Mr. President.”

* * *

* * *

**Author's Note:**

> Mr. Rogers is a staple of American culture - a children's show presenter from the 1970s and 1980s, he raised a whole lot of us on how to be good neighbors. Kohl's is a department store, mostly found in American suburbs, that is famous for its coupons.  
> ___  
> Find me on [Twitter](http://www.twitter.com/betheflame1) or [Tumblr](http://betheflame.tumblr.com) for more on these yahoos. You can also submit prompts and cajole me into writing faster - it usually works. If you're on Discord, I'm definitely there, too, and probably hanging in the [Stony](https://discord.gg/z5WSqbS) or [Stuckony](https://discord.gg/jtXcc3n) servers.
> 
> Also! FestiveFerret and I have a podcast about Steve and Tony matters. It's called "Pod on the Suit" and you can find out more info [here!](http://podonthesuit.tumblr.com)
> 
>   
> 


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